The Shark That Eats Seagrass

The smallest hammerhead, the bonnethead shark, is neither a lover, nor a fighter. They can reproduce on their own and would rather eat seagrass than a swimmer.

Host: Hank Green (he/him)
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[laurachapple]

I have never heard of these before but they are exquisitely friend-shaped and IMMEDIATELY my new favourite sharks. I can't wait for my pin.

[Azzarinne]

When I worked at an aquarium, we actually had bonnetheads in a (monitored, don't worry) touch tank. One of my favorite things to do was stand by maligned species' tanks and dispel myths, and this was a great opportunity to do that. The only time I heard of anyone getting bitten was when a handler was feeding them and had her hand cupped rather than flat, and her fingers got a little nommed. Not the shark's fault, and she was fine.

[nestrior]

All sharks deserve all the hugs and head pats. The bonnethead even more so. Just love them.

[fubberpish]

it wasn't mentioned in the video, but Zebra Sharks have also been known to exhibit parthenogenesis. it was first observed in a Zebra Shark kept at Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, but a similar event occurred again at the Cairns Aquarium, where the cloned sharks are on display, where I was able to see them when I visited. very cool! the aquarium staff did say that eggs produced via parthenogenesis are only viable about a quarter of the time, so most eggs the Zebra Sharks (they have two adult females) laid never hatched, but two did!

[slitheringswamp]

Adding on to this, consider the vast gulf of time which sharks have existed on this planet. There could have been thousands of omnivorous and maybe even herbivorous species

[dpomein]

When I was a young lad I lived on an island, we would make big rock circles in the shallows and put fish we caught in them along with crabs and stuff. We used to have a "pet" bonnet head shark who would frequent our dock and we feed small fish. Oh the simpler days

[solsoman]

the timeless experience of clicking on a video from a channel you've never seen before only to once again be pleasantly surprised by the voice of hank green

[katbairwell]

I have never wanted one of the Bizarre Beasts pins as much as I desire this one - look how cute!! Brilliant work by the artist!

[jansenart]

"Shark infested water" = "Human infested city"

[ThatJaymsWisdom]

Yep. Still the best series on Youtube. Also, I LOVE this pin. I can't wait to get my cute little shark fella!

[thenerdbeast]

"Twice as good at it as pandas are at digesting bamboo."
That's pretty low standards there and not saying much, pandas are so bad at their job _we_ could probably digest bamboo easier than they can.

[TopsyTriceratops]

Not only do these sharks have a non-threatening size to them, their shape is also quite docile in a way!
I also love that super adorable, harmless sounding name. "Bonnethead", like an old-timey baby wearing a bonnet, it's just so cute to think about!

[theveganrancor]

That stingray straight up killed Shark Jesus. I hope they named the stingray Pontius Pilate.

[UniDocs_Mahapushpa_Cyavana]

The four lineages of sea grasses are super cool too. One even evolved vivipary. IN A PLANT.

Also, it is weird cetaceans don't regularly eat sea grasses, being ruminants, when animals not even slightly adapted to it managed to evolve it pretty easily.

[samwill]

"Well they came into our bit...of the ocean"
"You see that bit? That big wet bit? That's their bit."

[nariutimes]

"you can eat all kinds of things that don't actually do anything for you, nutritionally." Me and chocolate...

[Teag_Brohman]

the ocean abounds with fearsome creatures, but none attacks its prey with more fury... THAN THE SEAWEED SHARK!!!!



the struggle... is soon over...

[rolandtowen]

This is the pin that finally got me to sign up for the pin club. He's so friend shaped.

[Akaryusan]

hopefully people leave well enough alone with these little guys so they can evolve into big cow sharks

[DracarmenWinterspring]

0:56 - I'm curious how they ended up on coasts on both sides of central America, but not far north or south of that. I can't imagine they would've stayed as one species if they crossed over before the isthmus of Panama closed, that was several million years ago. Did they used to be on one side but got through the Panama canal somehow, or otherwise brought over by human intervention? Do some of them occasionally swim far enough to go around Cape Horn?